Super Marshal

Standing in front of the south window of the Schalke 04 training center, you can overlook the Schalke Stadium 300 meters away.

That spectacular stadium leaves Ivan Rakitic stunned every time.

This feeling is exactly the same as when he came to Schalke 04 from Basel, Switzerland three years ago, standing in this place and admiring this spectacular World Cup stadium from this angle.

He was nineteen years old that year, and he was a talented rookie who had just debuted for a year, and the top teams in Europe were scrambling to pay attention to him.

In those years, Schalke 04 was also one of the most prestigious teams in the Bundesliga and has always maintained strong competitiveness. Rakitic chose this place as his starting point to enter the top European leagues, hoping to be able to play in the top leagues in Europe. Improvement and even transformation were completed here, but looking back now, everything was counterproductive.

The three years he joined Schalke 04 were also turbulent three years for the team, with ups and downs in performance. Rakitic himself was also greatly affected. First, he was unable to adapt to Rutten's four-three-three formation and tactical play. After Rutten left the team and Magath took over, the team's performance has improved significantly and it has rejoined the Bundesliga championship competition.

But at this time, Rakitic found it difficult to adapt to Magath's training and competition requirements, and it was difficult to gain Magath's trust. He seemed to prefer to use players like Knia and Moritz. This puts Rakitic in an awkward position within the team.

This summer, Rakitic originally wanted to prove himself with a better performance, but the result was unlucky.

After the league started, he followed the team and lost 1-2 away to Hamburg. After returning to Gelsenkirchen, he found that his home had been ransacked by thieves, and all valuable items had been taken away. Make him feel at a loss.

He immediately called the police, but the police said they could not accurately estimate the exact time when the theft occurred, making it difficult to conduct a manhunt.

The loss was not serious, but he was very panicked about it. He could no longer feel safe in his apartment, so he began planning to move and looking for a new home, which seriously affected his daily training and preparations.

But in this regard, the club and coach did not provide him with any help at all. Head coach Magath only said a few words of comfort during the interview, and then ignored him. He had to handle everything by himself. .

This was indeed a very difficult period for him, who was only twenty-two years old.

Because it affected his state at the beginning of the season, he began to be distrusted by Magath. The two even had a verbal conflict in the media about this, which was reported by the media.

More importantly, this year is the last year of his contract with Schalke 04.

After entering October, the issue of Rakitic's contract extension has received widespread attention. Rakitic's intention is to renew the contract, but he hopes that the club and the coaching staff will promise to give him a chance to play. He firmly believes that he can satisfy the coaching staff. To meet the requirements of the team and complete the team's tasks, he does not feel that he is worse than other teammates.

At the same time, his agent also began to actively plan for him, and has been linked to many teams, such as Birmingham, Bolton, and Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League, Napoli, Juventus, and AC Milan in Serie A. , as well as teams such as Atletico Madrid and Sevilla in La Liga.

This is a very common negotiation method. On the one hand, it can put a certain amount of pressure on the club to ensure the interests of the players when renewing the contract. On the other hand, it can also take a certain initiative to prevent the players from falling into passivity after the club refuses to renew the contract.

In order to show his sincerity, Rakitic publicly stated through an interview with his agent that although many teams, including Inter Milan, are eager to get Rakitic, the player's first choice is still to stay. At Schalke 04.

However, Schalke 04 and head coach Magath still refused to accept Rakitic's request and were unwilling to guarantee his main position in the team, which forced the contract renewal negotiations between the two parties to reach a stalemate.

In November, head coach Magath admitted in a public interview with the media, "I am not optimistic about Rakitic's contract extension negotiations. In fact, we may very well decide to sell him during the winter break."

"Anything can happen in the professional leagues, and trades this winter are also possible."

Magath's words undoubtedly pushed Rakitic into a very embarrassing situation, and he had to make a choice.

This is undoubtedly a difficult decision.

He is only twenty-two years old. In the past few years at Schalke 04, except for the first season, he failed to show satisfactory strength and progress in the remaining seasons. This made him receive unprecedented criticism. question.

He is no longer the talented Basel midfielder he was three years ago.

If, after this transfer, he fails to perform better at his new club, then his career will be wasted.

It is precisely because of this that many strong teams are afraid of him.

Atletico Madrid, who was originally kind to Fengquan, has no longer contacted him. Juventus and AC Milan have not had any substantive contact from beginning to end, and there are not many choices left for him.

Birmingham and Bolton in the Premier League, Sevilla in La Liga, Naples in Serie A...

The agent said that another team has been in contact with him recently, La Liga's Chinatown.

Alpine's team was promoted last season and is currently ranked third in La Liga this season. It is very likely to qualify for the Champions League.

The reason why Atletico Madrid no longer launches an offensive against Rakitic is that it has taken a fancy to Schneiderlin in Chinatown, and Chinatown wants to introduce him to fill Schneiderlin's vacancy.

This makes Rakitic feel sad.

But the reality is so cruel, and there will be no mercy on him just because he is young.

…………

…………

"What's going on? You've been looking depressed lately."

A familiar voice suddenly sounded behind him.

Rakitic looked back and saw that it was teammate Raul, the former captain of Real Madrid.

A good man.

At least Rakitic thinks so.

"You know." Rakitic replied with a bitter smile.

With this smile, the expression on his face showed that he was only twenty-two years old at all, and he looked very mature.

It was a kind of maturity that was forcibly pushed out, revealing the immaturity and weakness.

"It's hard to talk about transfers, and it's very difficult to make a choice, but sometimes we don't have a choice at all."

Raul walked to Rakitic's side and looked at the Schalke Stadium in the distance, but there was a trace of nostalgia in his eyes, as if what he was seeing was the Bernabeu Stadium, the palace in his heart.

"I never thought that one day I would leave Real Madrid, but when the day came that I had to leave, I found that leaving was a good thing. It was a good thing for me, the club, the coaching staff, and everyone. And after you leave, you will find that many things you thought you couldn’t let go of can be let go.”

Rakitic listened carefully to Raul's comfort. The latter was one of the few teammates in the team who still had full confidence in him.

In fact, the two seem to be in harmony whether they are training or competing.

"This was what one of my neighbors said to me before I made the decision. He said that there is a proverb in his home country: if you move a tree, you will die, but if you move people, you will live. So, I later decided to leave Real Madrid."

After Raul said this, he laughed, looking particularly relieved and relaxed.

He has also said more than once that after coming to Schalke 04, he can play and compete more easily and enjoy the fun of football.

"Oh, by the way, this neighbor of mine is called Gao Han."

"It's him!" Rakitic's eyes lit up.

This name is well-known throughout the European football world. All professional players are proud of Gao Han playing football, but only the top stars can play for him, so his team can often achieve the best results.

"He... what kind of person is he?" Rakitic asked curiously.

Raul rarely mentioned Gao Han, but he didn't expect the two to be neighbors. Rakitic was extremely curious.

"What kind of person?" Raul chuckled, thought hard for a moment, shook his head and said: "It's hard to say, ordinary people, I heard that according to their Chinese aesthetics, I heard that he is quite handsome, but I I feel that he is not as handsome as me at all."

Rakitic couldn't help but smile when he heard this. He didn't expect Raul to have such a side.

"He's a guy who's very passionate about football and a guy that's trustworthy, I think."

"Where's Chinatown?"

"Chinatown?" Raul frowned and thought hard, "As far as I know, he is the result of Gao Han's hard work. For ten years, he has been supported by Gao Han. In the past two years, I finally got through it, and I'm playing well in La Liga this season. I'm best at youth training, and I'm very good at cultivating players."

After a pause, Raul smiled slightly, "You know, Carlos Cantarero is good at shaping players, and that's it!" Raul gave a thumbs up to express his appreciation.

Cantarero is indeed a well-known figure in European football. He is Gao Han's right-hand man and has done well in many teams. He later served as the technical director of Chinatown. This is precisely the reason why Chinatown's performance has improved by leaps and bounds. of two years.

"This team has only been established for ten years and has a relatively weak foundation, but there is no doubt about its strength. At least I don't think it is an accident that they can reach third place in La Liga this season, because as far as I know, they have gathered a group of outstanding young players, and They are also very good at discovering and developing players, so they have developed very quickly in the past two years.”

"I can't say what will happen in the future, but I think it will be a force that cannot be underestimated in La Liga and even European football."

Raul looked at Rakitic's deep-thinking expression and understood the Croatian's dilemma.

He only heard from his friends yesterday that Chinatown was interested in Rakitic, but he was not interested in getting involved. Today, it was mainly Rakitic who asked, so he gave the answer, and everything was It comes from my heart and there is absolutely no forgery.

"I personally understand that your characteristics are more suitable for La Liga, where you can better display your strength. In addition to Chinatown, teams such as Sevilla, Valencia and Villarreal are also very good. I suggest you think carefully about your choice, as the next choice is very important to you." Raul said earnestly.

Rakitic nodded heavily, he could feel Raul's kindness.

"Can I take the liberty of asking you a question?" Rakitic asked suddenly.

"Of course, you can ask." Raul replied readily.

"If...I mean if, hypothetically, if you were me, which team would you choose?"

Raul was stunned for a moment, then laughed out loud, "It's difficult to answer this hypothesis."

"It's okay, I'm just asking casually, you can tell me casually."

Raul thought for a moment and nodded, "Let's go to Chinatown."

"Why?"

"Gao Han and I are neighbors. I know him well and he won't cheat me." Raul laughed.

The expression Rakitic responded to was... full of black lines.

I'm dizzy!